“The Shape of Water” director Guillermo del Toro took home the Golden Globe for Best Director at the 2018 ceremony.

“Since childhood I’ve been faithful to monsters,” the director said in an emotional speech. “I’ve been saved and absolved by them. For 25 years I have hand-crafted strange little tales made with emotion, color, light, and shadow… and in three precise instances, these fables have saved my life,” he said, referring to “The Devil’s Backbone,” “Pan’s Labyrinth,” and now “The Shape of Water.”

When the music started to play snd the director was threatened with being played off, he successfully pleaded for a few more seconds, imploring: “Lower the music, guys. It’s taken 25 years to get here, give me a minute.” He then used his remaining moments to thank the women in his cast, including star Sally Hawkins and Best Supporting Actress nominee Octavia Spencer.

The award was presented by Ron Howard and Natalie Portman, the letter of whom cooly observed: “And here all the all-male nominees.”

The other nominees in the category were Martin McDonagh (“Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri”), Christopher Nolan (“Dunkirk”), Ridley Scott (“All the Money in the World”), and Steven Spielberg (“The Post”).

The 75th Annual Golden Globes were presented Sunday, January 7, during a live ceremony that aired on NBC and was live-streamed for the first time online. The awards were voted on by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, a group of international journalists who determine the nominees and winners. For all of IndieWire’s coverage from the ceremony, click here.